Category: a slice of STRATEGY

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Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

7 questions to help you ruthlessly prioritize

Posted on by Maria Ross

10-14-14 Prioritize (blog)

“Don’t put off to tomorrow what you can do today.”

How quaint.

I used to live by this mantra. But in today’s world of 24/7 smart phone access, juggling business/kids/relationship/self-care/community and an avalanche of data coming at us, it’s not really sound advice for staying sane.

As a new mama who owns her own business, I have graduated to a whole new level of “prioritization.” Whereas before I was overwhelmed by choices on when to write, create, strategize, serve clients, invent a new course, conduct a webcast…. limited pockets of time these days force the most basic decisions: Do I wash my hair or feed my son before daycare? Do I do a load of laundry, pay the bills, or finish that blog post? Do I eat or shower?

These days, you’ve gotta practice “ruthless prioritization.” (Tweet this!) Here’s how:

Something that has helped this Type A overachiever has been to ask myself 7 key questions before any task. Depending on the answer, you can decide to:

  • Do it right away
  • Do it by day’s end
  • Schedule it
  • Outsource it
  • Say no
  • Ignore it

When you’re having one of those crazy, busy, fire-drill days where it feels like your to-do list is as daunting as Mt. Everest, ask yourself these questions before doing each task. You may just feel lighter, less stressed and more in control:

  1. Is someone I care about depending on this and by a certain time? The key words here are “someone I care about and “depending.” This could be a client, a vital partner or a family member who truly needs you and needs you now. If you get asked for a favor by someone you barely know that will take time away from more important tasks, it can wait…or be politely turned down. When I choose to skip a shower on a crazy busy morning so I can feed my baby on time –  well, that’s  pretty much a no-brainer. The boy needs food. But please remember: often, someone else’s urgency does not constitute an emergency on your part – unless you choose to let it.
  2. Can I quickly deal with it and get it off my plate? When someone emails me for the name and number of that great designer I know, it takes me 2 seconds to send them the person’s contact card. Simple. Done.  If they want me to send an email introducing the two of them – something I may want to spend some thought on – well, that can wait until tomorrow.
  3. Does it generate revenue? We small business owners tend to waste time and energy on things that are not adding to our bottom line, which is sometimes totally okay. But on busy days, given a choice between updating a website page or conducting a paid client call….well, I don’t know about you, but I’ll take the money.
  4. Is there a point-of-no-return consequence for not dealing with this today? If a reporter from The Wall Street Journal asks for an interview today, heck yeah, make time for the call. You’re on their deadline and you could miss your shot at national press. If someone from a blog you’ve never heard of before emails you out of the blue and asks you to fill out a 10 question email interview?  You can schedule time to deal with that next week – and if they won’t wait, so be it. Other tasks in this category can include “Gotta pick up my only suit from the dry cleaner by closing time before my big meeting tomorrow” versus  “A colleague wants to brainstorm about a joint event that is not taking place for another 6 months.”
  5. Am I the only one who can personally handle this? Do you really have to be the one doing it? If not, give it to your virtual assistant, refer it to a colleague, or hire someone from TaskRabbit or Fiverr to deal with it.
  6. What happens if I say no?  Sometimes we think we have to do something when really, it’s just our own internal pressure.  I used to freak out if I missed a week of posting to my blog. But, really…is it a case of life or death if I miss a week to deal with something more important? Will my readers riot and take to the streets just because Red Slice did not post something new this week? The realistic answer is no. Everyone’s busy and while consistency is important, the sky won’t fall because my blog is not the most important thing in my readers’ world each week (but if it is, that’s totally cool…)
  7. Will it help me breathe easier? Sometimes, I choose to spend time catching up on email or another solitary project over the weekend simply because it takes a weight off my shoulders and allows me to relax.  So my husband and I sometimes schedule a “work hour” on Sundays and then put our laptops away. The payoff is an easier, breezier return to Monday.

So tell me: How do you manage your endless to-do list? What tips and tricks help you keep your head above water? Please share in the Comments below!

Photo Credited to Antoine Beauvillain via Unsplash.

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

What’s your point of view? You’d better know.

Posted on by Maria Ross

10.6 Point of View (blog)

Creating thought leadership for your brand means you have something to say, a point of view to add to the conversation. If you just roll along the way everyone else does, what sets you apart? At that point, you’re simply a lookalike commodity and just another voice adding to the noise.

Being a thought leader means having a clear point of view. What’s yours? (Tweet this!)

Brand leaders who share a clear point of view make it really easy for prospects to say, “Hey! I like what she’s saying and how she thinks…what she offers is perfect for me.”

Scared to express your point of view because you don’t want to risk alienating anyone? Remember my mantra: “Everyone” is not a target market. You cannot be all things to all people or you’ll be nothing to no one. Power brands know that some people may, at best, ignore them and, at worst, despise them. It’s okay. They are not your target customers or clients anyway.

If you don’t clearly express a perspective, a philosophy, or a reason for being you’ll get lost in the marketing cacophony. And no amount of “But my products/services/offerings are the best” will help you, my friend, because no one will even know you’re there. In your quest to please everyone and “make as many sales as you can” you will attract nobody.

There are many ways you can express your point of view:

To express your point of view, you of course have to know what it is. What do you stand for? What do you believe? What are your brand values and attributes?

Want to gain clarity on your brand point of view and how to share it with the world? Check out my digital self-study program, MOMENTUM Pro!

 Photo Credit: Stephanie Watson via Flickr

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

3 Ways to Build Your Thought Leader Brand

Posted on by Maria Ross

9.30 building thought leadership brand (blog)

If you’re a consultant of any persuasion, you have probably heard this ad naseum:

You have to establish yourself as a thought leader.

Let’s break down what this really means, why thought leadership matters and how you can build a thought leader brand.

Thought Leadership Defined

Thought leadership is simply establishing yourself as the expert on your chosen profession, not just on the products or services you sell. It means people come to you for your thoughts or take on things that happen in your industry. If you’re a dog training expert, you might be asked to comment on a recent dog fighting bust and how those dogs will be rehabilitated. If you’re a health and wellness thought leader, reporters might seek you out for your opinion on the latest Hollywood fitness craze. If you’re a financial expert, people may clamor to hear how you interpret the proposed changes to international tax laws.

A brand built around thought leadership has lots of legs. (Tweet this!)

Why Does Thought Leadership Matter?

People want to hear from thought leaders. You can score lots of brand awareness by being quoted in the press, speaking at conferences or authoring a book. Maybe your particular service or product will grow stale or fall out of fashion: if you’re a thought leader in your overall area of expertise, you can constantly evolve, create ancillary products or services, and build longevity.

When brand news breaks, I am honored to be asked for my opinion. People have come to me and asked for my perspectives on news such as the Susan Komen debacle or the Lance Armstrong brand wreck. But things didn’t start out that way…

How to Build Your Thought Leadership Street Cred

If you want to be a thought leader, you first need to consider what you want to be known for – and if you truly have expertise in that arena. Hmmm..that sounds an awful lot like your brand strategy, doesn’t it?

(I’m going to assume here that you want to establish yourself as a thought leader in an area in which you truly have experience, wisdom and value to share. If you’re trying to establish thought leadership as a marketing gimmick to “get rich quick” – and believe me, there are many people out there who will try to take your money to show you how you can present yourself as an expert in ANY area you like – I think you might be reading the wrong blog.)
OK, so you can totally position yourself as a thought leader in customer service/innovation/money management/wellness. Fab. Now how do you go about building up that brand?

Here are 4 ways to brand yourself as a thought leader:

  1. Create Insightful Content, Not Just Sales Pages: Maintaining a valuable and consistent blog, starting a podcast interview series, creating sassy videos or even writing industry insight white papers on a regular basis allow you to present your point of view. It’s like being the editor of your own magazine or TV show without the pesky gatekeepers. Plus, creating all this useful content gives you something interesting to share in social media. PLUS, it provides constantly updated content on your site so you show up well in organic search. Meaning, when reporters are looking for people; to interview on your chosen topic or clients are looking for the best of the best in an area they need, your content will be fresh, timely and relevant. Thought leaders always have their finger on the pulse and if you are never putting new, rich content out into the world, no one will remember your name.
  2. Write Contributed Articles: Approach the online and offline publications in your space and offer to write a contributed article on a specific topic. Media outlets are starving for good, free content right now and as long as you don’t pitch but provide insightful content, they are happy to run expert work. Having press clips you can promote on your site – and media logos you can cite in an “As seen in…” section are vital for a thought leadership brand. Side benefit: If you do Tip #1, you can repurpose blog posts or other content to use as a media pitch. Time saver!
  3.  Book Speaking Engagements: I know, I know…”Easier said than done, Maria!” Well, we all gotta start somewhere. I started out offering to speak everywhere to everyone with no expectation of pay. While this is not something I particularly agree with on an ongoing basis (organizations making money off of events should pay the people providing the content and creating the draw for said events), you do have to build thought leadership slowly. Get people talking. Make connections. Weigh the benefits you’ll get. While I don’t often do free speaking engagements anymore, I do make exceptions if the exposure is huge or the potential for paid work is REAL and present. One free speaking engagement I did last year gave me amazing exposure AND led to someone in the audience hiring me to speak for my regular fee. Fine-tune your perspective and presentations during these “freebie” engagements. Once you establish the thought leadership, you will not only be able to command speaker fees, but you’ll have presentations already created that you can simply tweak and reuse.

TIP: You don’t have to advertise that you don’t charge a fee at first. Come up with a fair fee you would like to get paid, invoice the organization for that amount but zero it out so they understand the value of what they are getting for your brilliance. Then, if they recommend you elsewhere they can say, “Well, her fee is x but she’s willing to negotiate.” And pretty soon, organizations will expect to start paying that fee and you can begging charging for your time.

What is your area of thought leadership? What has worked for you in building that thought leadership? Please share in the Comments below.

Photo credit: Nina Matthews Photography on Flickr

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

5 Foolproof Tips to Keep Your Startup from Tanking

Posted on by Maria Ross

Why do some startups thrive while others die on the vine? It’s often not about the idea itself but management and execution. Today, guest blogger Sean Jones shares 5 tips to ensure your startup stays healthy instead of dying a quick death. Sean is a business writer with a primary focus on the technological sector. He has covered startup social networking sites and provided engaging content for numerous tech companies, with an interest for topics like company growth, cloud computing, hosted services, and mobile productivity.

8 of 10 businesses fail within the first 18 months, according to Forbes. (Tweet this!)

This is enough to make even the savviest of entrepreneurs shudder. Is it worth it to take the risk, when the odds are clearly not in your favor? Here are 5 tips to help your startup thrive:

1. Expect Setbacks, and Don’t Panic When They Happen

“Smooth seas never made a skillful sailor.” While this is one of the most cliche sayings of all time, it couldn’t be more applicable to the business world. As a company, you’ve got to know not only to expect things to go wrong, but to have a gameplan for when (not if) they do, especially from a financial aspect. Always have a backup plan and backup funds. And always keep a calm frame of mind when things don’t go as planned. Panicking can lead to impulse decisions that you may later regret, so make sure you take the time to fully think about every possible option to move forward in a less­than­ideal situation.

2. Don’t Overlook or Forget About the Small Details

Business guru Richard Branson explains how despite owning the mega company Virgin Group, he still takes the time to visit each of his businesses with a notebook to see what small, unique touches they can continue adding to their company. Take the time to customize each report depending on the specific client. Always check and evaluate even the most minute details of your business, especially those that are easy to overlook. Always remember employees’ birthdays.

3. Own Up to Your Mistakes, Especially to Customers

“If you’re wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically.” Dale Carnegie’s words could not be more applicable to the atmosphere of a startup business. The fact of the matter is that you will make (many) mistakes, but what’s important is how you handle them, especially with clients. In addition to owning your mishaps, always listen to the feedback and criticism from those more experienced than you — you may learn a thing or two.

4. Focus on an Uplifting Work Environment

One reason many startups struggle with launching is largely due to their discontented, disgruntled, unmotivated employees. If you enjoy the work you’re doing, it makes all the difference — and a positive and encouraging work environment aids in workplace enjoyment. It makes employees not only happier, but much more productive. Positive reinforcement goes a long way, and good morale in the workplace is vital.

5. Increase Productivity with New Technologies

There are lots of resources available to small companies that help with task management, organization, and overall efficiency. The US Small Business Association (SBA) gives a list of software that small companies should look into, including accounting, planning and time tracking software. Options range from free apps such as Toggl to Business Plan Pro software. It’s also good to consider outsourcing your company’s data management if you think it’d be less stressful than keeping the task of keeping up with all data in-house. Services such as Tekstream offer Oracle software while teaching you the most efficient ways to use it for your business.

6. Know When to Keep Growing and When to Hold Back

Entrepreneur Magazine claims that almost every small company enters a “no ­man’s land”— an awkward in­ between growth stage when it’s “too big to be small and too small to be big.” While it may be unavoidable in the growth process, it may also be when a company realizes it’s not going to be able to function as a large business. It’s important to make it over this hump in growth to succeed, so remember that the hiring process isn’t a race— only hire as many people as you are overly confident in being able to control at a time.

Despite daunting failure statistics for start­up businesses, if there’s a chance of success, it’s worth the risk— especially if you take the time to make sure you do it right the first time around.

Being successful means effective teamwork! Here’s a great article from The Virtual Hub on why teamwork is so important to your start-up’s success, especially with a virtual team.

Photo Credit: Karyn Christner on Flickr

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

7 tips on how to create powerful joint ventures

Posted on by Red Slice

Today’s guest post comes from Nancy Juetten, PR strategist, speaker and creator of Bye Bye Boring Business Bio – a great resource if you want to get known and be seen as an expert in your field. She’s built a successful business by creating lucrative partnerships and affiliate relationships. Today she shares her tips on how to foster these joint ventures so that you are exponentially seen, heard and celebrated – by clients and media alike.

Having worked as a publicist for experts and entrepreneurs for many years, advocating for others is a well-honed skill. Earning publicity is all about positioning experts and information in a timely, newsworthy and relevant way so even more people can learn about the top priority that is trend-worthy and useful at the moment.

Getting seen, heard, and celebrated via the media that matter for your message can make big noise and invite more of the right opportunities to connect with ideal clients and others who need to know about whatever it is that is YOUR priority. Media coverage gets people talking, sharing, and taking action. That is powerful for building brand, reputation, and buzz. And, when more people know about what you have to offer, you are more easily found, referred, and hired, and those are outcomes that give business owners everywhere reasons to cheer.

When I first learned about the value of joint ventures for expert positioning and getting the word out, the parallels to the power of publicity were clear to me and also aligned with my skill set. During a joint venture with a strategic partner, colleagues share information that is timely, newsworthy and relevant with their carefully nurtured tribes of fans to build know-like-trust and inspire action. Sometimes, the communication is about sharing a useful report that solves a specific problem. Other times, the communication is about inviting a specific buying action. Either way, the common thread is that the information or offer being extended is relevant, of service, and intended to make a positive impact. The audience for the message is well served, and everyone wins.

So, when I got started with joint venture partnerships in 2006, I started by doing my homework. What steps did I take?

And more to the point, what steps might you take now that your desire to make joint ventures part of your get known to get paid strategy has become crystal clear to you?  Here are suggestions, based on my path so far.

  1. Identify a product or service that your tribe needs, wants, and is likely to invest into to get the benefit or the relief.
  2. Investigate the best-of-breed service providers who offer that solution and start a relationship.  Not a transaction. A relationship.
  3. Learn about and use the product or service to know that it truly is the best available so as to be in a solid position to provide meaningful and credible advocacy.
  4. Invite opportunities to promote the work of high quality partners in the spirit of service to your own tribe.
  5. Deliver on every promise  made, and go the extra mile to deliver results as measured by opt ins and referred sales.
  6. Invite conversations with partners for reciprocal promotions or other creative ways to collaborate for great results, once and all.
  7. Nurture the relationships over time.  By making powerful introductions to other people of influence, being available to mastermind or brainstorm to solve problems, going the extra mile whenever possible, and showing up as a great colleague, co-collaborator, and friend, you can develop lasting and rewarding relationships with your partners.  In doing so, everyone is in great position to serve more of the perfect clients we are here to serve and make a bigger impact through our work.

If you are new to the world of publicity or joint ventures, consider today a NEW day to approach both arenas as students who are serious about learning best practices.  Take action on what you learn.  Keep track of your results.  And keep advancing along the path to mastery.

We all bloom where we are planted and grow from there. In the spirit of authentic visibility, it  gets a bit intimidating at times to see how big some partners play, how well they use technology to their advantage, and how elaborate some of their promotions are.

As much as I’ve learned since starting down this path, there is still so much more to learn and do, and I’ll keep moving forward in a step by step and sometimes leaps and bounds kind of way.

I will also say that it is a privilege to learn from those who are playing big and take the best of what they do and apply it in my own best way to make my own impact with clients and the marketplace.

What I know based on my own experience is that when your advocacy puts your name on the top of a leader board for a joint venture in which many of your industry’s most influential players are participating, that means that people with names you likely recognize will soon be calling your name. And that just might be the most intoxicating benefit of all.

You can listen to a webinar replay I gave about Joint Ventures and gain access to two relevant gifts to guide you forward,

About Guest Blogger Nancy Juetten:

Since 2009, Business Bio Expert and Get Known to Get Paid Mentor Nancy Juetten has earned a reputation as the “go to” expert for helping aspiring experts transform their boring business bios from wallpaper to wow to attract clients now. Access your “Heal Your Boring Business Bio to Attract Clients and Cash Now” gift booklet today, and invite your friends to do the same.

Are joint ventures and affiliate programs part of your business and marketing model? What have you achieved and which people are doing cool things in this area? Please share in the Comments below and get the conversation going!

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Marketing 101: The Music Analogy

Posted on by Red Slice

I am often asked to explain the difference between brand and marketing, and  strategy versus tactics to audiences and clients. But today guest columnist Boyan Blocka, a writer, marketer and business consultant based in Vancouver, Canada, gives us a musical jam version of these definitions that are way more fun. His company, Kyosei Consulting works with clients worldwide. 

When meeting with first-time small business owners, it’s not unusual that their marketing-speak is a little bit blurred. To help everyone get on the same page, I sometimes introduce a music analogy as a sort of quick ‘Marketing 101.’ 

So, without further adieu, ‘Marketing 101: The Music Analogy.’

Brand = Musical Style

I liken brand to your unique musical style. It determines ‘what and how’ you play (ie. market yourself) and is heavily influenced by your intended audience. Just like a unique musical style, your brand sets expectations in the customer’s mind, well before you even play your marketing piece.

If you think of Apple, you know their style well before they even touch their first keynote (pun intended). Hence, just like you know what Jazz sounds like without needing to know the name of the song, it’s easy to pinpoint Apple’s brand with only a few clues or even spot a brand copycat! 

Of course at this point, if my clients and I stay stuck in brand minutiae – I quickly plug my peer Maria Ross and her book ‘Branding Basics for Small Business’ (second edition now in print!) – but I digress… (Editor’s Note: Aw, thanks Boyan!)

Campaign = The Concert

A campaign is to a marketer what a concert is to a musician. Campaigns (just like good concerts) piggyback on and speak to current trends and audience preferences – all with designs to move an audience emotionally. So when companies measure and tweak their marketing based on user metrics – in rough musical terms, really what they’re doing is practicing their set and honing it to better get a rise out of you.

Marketing Piece = The Song

The actual marketing piece is the song that’s played. Carefully scored and crafted, drafted and re-drafted, a marketing piece must live and breathe the spirit of the brand and be consistent with the goals of the campaign it serves.

Strategy = The Hook of the Song

Next is strategy. Psychologically, strategies are like hooks (or catchy riffs in music parlance) used to capture the ear of the listener. The key differentiator of a strategy (versus, say, a tactic) is that strategies are as powerful today as they will be a hundred years from now. They’re timeless. A common example of a strategy is the use of ‘a free offer’ to tempt a prospect to try something new.

Strategies stem from an understanding of human behavior, memory, cognitive bias and effect. And, just like a good hook in music, they work reliably regardless of the instrument of delivery – be it ebook, web, television or lemonade stand. Have a listen to these unconventionally played pieces here and here and see if you’re still moved by their memorable hooks.

Tactics = The playable parts of an instrument

Finally, that lands us on the most contentious of all areas for me – tactics. Tactics are like the keys of the piano. They’re the trending ‘bright shiny objects’ of the moment. They’re social media sites. Neato metrics. Cool ways to link, friend, like, post, photograph, etc. … but they’re not everything – and they don’t work forever.

Use tactics in the right order with the right timing (informed by your strategy, campaign and brand) – and you have marketing music. Hit tactics too hard, randomly, repeatedly, or all at once – and all you get is noise. (Tweet this!) 

A good thing to remember next time your Social Media person is emphatic about playing ‘Twitter, Twitter, Little Star’ one more time!

Photo credit: Jason Eppink on Flickr

What other fun marketing analogies do you love that help you keep it all straight? “Marketing is like ________” Please share with us for fun!

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

3 ways to teach your old ebook some new tricks

Posted on by Red Slice

Today’s guest post is from Dina Eisenberg, AKA the Info Product Doctor.  Dina is all about turning your expertise into a passive income stream that will help you scale and promote your brand far and wide – how much do we love that?! Follow her @DinaEisenberg.

There’s a problem that no solo business owner or coach ever mentions: Excess ebooks.  These are the ebooks that you began but didn’t finish.  The ebooks that represent your last digital product or your work before your business pivot.  Right now, they are sitting on your hard drive waiting to be used.

Kinda like that amazingly beautiful dress you bought because, well,  it was gorgeous and you’ll need it someday (natch). I still have an adorable fuschia silk waiting in the back of my closet for my next cruise.  Never mind that I’ll look like a pink round tennis ball. It’s there to inspire me to get in better shape and dream of new travel adventures.

This post will, hopefully, be your inspiration to repurpose your under-utilized ebook content.  After all, you already spent the time creating it.  Why not put that energy to good use and make some cash from the content?

Recycle your ebook into a new online offering & gain a new income stream (Tweet this!)

What can you do with an aging ebook?  Here are three ideas How about you share your ideas in the Comments, ok?

3 Ways to Repurpose Your Old Ebook

1.Turn your ebook into social media content

Finding more valuable content to share on social media can seem like a job, can’t it?  Even using all the great curation tools like Scoop.it or Google Alerts which bring news to you, it still takes a lot of time to sort, compose, create an image and share.  Gosh, I’m tired just writing that.

Upcycle your ebook by using excerpts as social media posts.  Boost engagement on Google Plus.  Dab a little on your Facebook status.  Pick out a provocative question to ask in your G+ community. Quote an excerpt on Twitter with a link back to your blog.  Share a graph or chart as an infographic.

Hello. I can almost hear your eyes rolling back in your head.  No, this isn’t more work.  Quite the opposite.  Recycling saves you time, provides content and gives you a second shot at brushing up your writing.  By the way, you can find help to get all of this done for you.

2. Give your ebook a makeover

I love to get a few new clothes for spring to refresh my wardrobe and get ready for summer (yeah summer!!!)  Your ebook might do well with a makeover, too.  How about changing your ebook cover?  Their styles go in and out of fashion, too.

Upcycle your ebooks’ looks, inside and out. Most ebooks are created simply without a lot of book design, which is fine. But sometimes the wrong title or cover can impact sales.  An older book with less than stellar sales could be a blockbuster with a new look. One place I see well-intentioned authors go wrong is with  book interiors that are poorly formatted and look amateurish.

Interiors are tough, for sure, if you’re not an inDesign expert.  I’m not. I found two solutions for this.  Joel Friendlander is the book designer who created Book Design Templates  and he’s a genius!  He took what I consider the hardest part of being an independent publisher- book design- and made it dead simple.

You simply select a template.  I’m partial to Focus for non-fiction business books. Nice and clean. Purchase it.  Templates are very reasonably priced for one print-on-demand or one ebook template.  Check the Tool Time here. Try a single license and if you like it you can get a multi-license to use more templates.  You’re not limited to business.  I have my eye on a children’s book template to capture the stories my kids and I made up at bedtime when they were kids.

As for the cover, no worries.  I’ve gotten very good ebook covers on Fiverr.com, the online work marketplace. It’s all about understanding how Fiverr works, setting your expectations correctly and being precise.  I talk more about that in my course Outsource Easier (new release soon)

3. Transform your ebook into an online course

Online learning is very hot right now and it will be for a while.  Smashwords reports that indie publishers will represent 50% of the ebook market by 2020.  As an authority, you can be part of that.  You can teach your online course on a variety of online platforms like Udemy, Lynda.com and Ruzuku.  Don’t have a course?  No worries.

Upcycle your ebook into a new online course offering and gain a new income stream. Your ebook was written to solve a problem or help your tribe achieve a goal. Well, that book can be turned into a self-paced  learning experience. Each chapter could become a module that you further develop to include exercises and tools.  By the way, you don’t have to be a geek.  I made my first course last year with simple tools like Powerpoint, Screenflow and Vimeo.  And whatever technical piece I couldn’t do myself, I outsourced affordably.

To be sure your course is effective and students actually learn I recommend using the ebook, Bottle your Wisdom by Dr. Kelly Edmonds.  Her book solves the problem of crafting your course.  She helps you determine what to include, how to avoid content-crammin, and ways to really engage your students for learning.

What are some other ways you’ve reused ebook ideas? Would your ebook make a good course or webinar? Please share in the Comments!

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Good touching, bad touching

Posted on by Red Slice

Today’s guest post is from the irrepressible Elizabeth Case, a favorite marketing colleague and friend of mine and Principal at Yellow Dog Consulting, a sales and marketing firm in Issaquah, WA. She’s hilarious, knows marketing and loves dogs –  all reasons why I adore her. Follow her on Twitter.

I had two client meetings the other day and BOTH mentioned “it takes 7 touches for someone to buy.” So I had a couple of great discussions about touch points with prospective clients – good touching and bad touching.

Remember, not all marketing touches are equal. Are you guilty of good or bad marketing touching? (Tweet this!)

Good Touches:

  • Your Newsletter: it pops into their inbox monthly (hopefully not much more than that) and reminds them that you know what you’re talking about without nagging them to hire you (hopefully!)
  • Social Media: Follow them/friend them/Link In with them and pay attention to what they’re saying. Don’t be creepy and like EVERYTHING they post, but keep an eye on them, and hopefully they do the same with you
  • Email follow-up: if you met them at an event or workshop and you said you’d send them something, DO IT. Always follow up. “great to see you yesterday at the luncheon,” “here’s the link to that doggy daycare I mentioned,” it doesn’t have to be about work, and often times that’s better – be a resource to them, a.k.a, their new go-to person.
  • Networking: Get out to the networking events where your clients and target market are gathering. Just the reminder that you’re alive and kicking is good for a lot of people. I need to see your face to be reminded you’re around. When I don’t see you, I can make assumptions you’re too busy for new clients. When you’re out and about, it’s good to know you may have time for new clients.

Bad Touches:

  • Phone Calls after business hours: We all know this is my biggest pet peeve. If you’re having a busy day and need to call them, leave a voicemail! And I always suggest sending a follow up note. They may prefer one to the other, and you need to figure that out. I have many an un-returned phone call because I can’t call back when I hear the voicemail, but didn’t get an email reminder to say “hey call me friday at 2.” Their loss.
  • Sales pitch emails: “Hey you should hire me, hey I’m really good at what I do, hey buy this.” No one likes that, you don’t like that, so don’t do it.
  • Creepy Social Media: Don’t like EVERY POST or comment on everything, but if it genuinely is of interest to you, like it. Can’t wait to see how many of you now freak out on whether to comment on this post or are afraid I’ll think you’re creepy (I won’t this time!).
  • The obvious sales pitch “coffee meeting:” Let’s be honest, you don’t want to learn about my business, you want to sell me on yours. Watch yourself when you call for the coffee meeting. That’s a BIG ask to leave your office- offer to be convenient to them if you want the business. I live in Issaquah about 15 miles east of Seattle. I don’t expect people to schlep out to the suburbs for me. So, I’m in Seattle a couple days a week and schedule all my meetings together. Make it convenient for THEM, not you.

Photo credit: Licked Lens Photography

Thanks Elizabeth! What “Good Touching” has worked for you? And what “Bad Touching” have you seen (or done in the past) that didn’t work or soured you to a person?

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

7 deadly marketing material sins you don’t want to make

Posted on by Red Slice

Your marketing materials should reflect your brand but sometimes, we don’t realize we are killing business softly by overlooking some important details. In our rush to just “get the information out there” we can sometimes do more harm than good to the sales process.

Today’s guest post is from my brilliant colleague Nancy Owyang. As the owner of Eye 2 Eye Graphics, LLC, Nancy is an award-winning designer with strong branding experience. She has aided a variety of clients in rebranding their businesses and I personally adore her design sensibilities and her ability to first understand an owner’s mission and brand, and then translate that complex identity into a graphic representation.  Today she offers up Seven Deadly Sins you’ll want to avoid in your marketing materials.

When it comes to marketing your business it is important to make a good first, second, and lasting impression. (Tweet!)Your marketing materials represent you, your business, what you do, and how well you do it. The list of “DON’Ts” for how to create and use your marketing materials is extensive, but to narrow the focus I have gathered 7 deadly sins of marketing materials that you need to avoid like the plague.

  1. Out-dated materials… or no materials. If you don’t have any other marketing collateral you absolutely need to have a business card, and a website—both create an easy entry into your business for new clients. Your business card and website need to have your correct contact information—phone number, e-mail, and mailing address. Make it easy for people to get ahold of you!
  2. Looking cheap. Tattered edges, stains, crossed out information, bad visuals, no visuals, fuzzy pictures, the same business card and brochure template as someone else in the room—and I could go on—are big “No-No’s.” There is a huge difference between creating something that is cost effective and something that looks cheap. Committing this deadly sin will automatically drop the level of professionalism in your marketing piece by a few notches.
  3. Poorly written copy. Having correct spelling and grammar in your materials should be a given, but unfortunately this often gets overlooked. I encourage everyone to find a good proofreader to review all of your materials. The voice, or tone, of your marketing materials is also very important and needs to reflect the mission, vision, and personality of your business. Working with a professional writer to help you find “your voice” is a valuable component to your brand.
  4. Failure to differentiate you and your business from the competition. I want you to imagine your business as a Hollywood star nominated for Best Actress at the Academy Awards. You step out of the limo, onto the Red Carpet and the unthinkable has happened… you are wearing the same dress as your competition! Just like on the Red Carpet, in business you need to avoid this ultimate faux pas! An important part of marketing your business is to know who your competition is, know how you are different, and express that in your marketing materials.
  5. Not focusing on the benefits. Always keep in mind your target. Look through their eyes and ask the question “well, what’s in it for me?” Go through your entire document concentrating on the benefits of your message, not the features. Another alarming, but all-too-common, trend that I’m seeing is too much “real estate” being given to outlining your education and business history.  Although this is an important part of your business, how well does it answer the burning question in your client’s mind, “what can this company do for me?”
  6. Failing to grab the attention and pain of your ideal clients. Give your audience just enough so that they want more. People don’t want to be overloaded with information. Especially if the marketing piece is a brochure or welcome kit, only provide enough information so that your audience gets the basics of what you offer and how you can solve their pain or problem. If you create some intrigue, your prospect will have other questions, giving you an opportunity to continue the conversation and answer their specific questions.
  7. Inconsistency. Your business should have a clearly defined identity with a style that appears on your business cards, stationery, brochures, website—indeed, all your marketing materials. Consistency sends the message that your business is stable and dependable. Your marketing materials need to visibly represent a business that is professional, successful, and at the top of its field.

Having well -designed and strategically planned marketing materials will help you present a professional image and make a great memorable impression. Failing to present the professional image that your ideal client expects can kill the deal and could stop your business dead in its tracks.

PS, to view a sampling of Nancy’s work please visit her online portfolio.

Do you have advice or lessons learned about your marketing materials? What one action will you take on your materials based on what you learned in this post? Would LOVE to hear it in the Comments below.

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Stay out of the slammer: 4 tips to avoid Facebook jail

Posted on by Red Slice

Today’s guest post is from Tracey Warren, founder of Ready Set, Grow! Marketing, where she helps small business owners wrangle and manage their social media accounts and content with ease.

You expect Facebook to behave in certain ways, right? You want to be able to make friend requests, post statuses and comment on what other people have to say.

But imagine that today is different. Today, when you make a Friend request, you get a notification that you are blocked from making friend requests for 7, 14, 30 days. Or, you go to post a status and that functionality is not available for you.

You are in Facebook Jail.

OK, there really is no such thing as Facebook Jail, but that is the term people use to refer to the above.

If this has ever happened to you, I imagine you wondered what you did to cause it. If it hasn’t, I would guess you would want to do anything you could to avoid it.

Here are 4 tips for staying on good terms with Facebook – and your friends – so you can fly free and stay out of jail.

  1. Space Out Your Friend Requests: Don’t make tons of Friend requests at the same time. If you make a number of requests and people don’t respond, Facebook puts up a little red flag and assumes you might be a computer. Just make your requests slowly and if people aren’t responding, send them a nudge via a message to remind them.
  2. Ensure You Know the Person: Don’t make a number of friend requests to people you don’t know – or don’t make those at all. When an opportunity does arise where you would like to make a friend request and you don’t personally know them, send a private message at the same time. When someone receives a friend request, they have a few options. They can accept, or say not now. When they respond with not now, Facebook then asks if they know you outside of Facebook. If they answer no, that is a problem that can often be avoided with the private message.
  3. Don’t Bait and Switch: If someone you don’t know does accept your Friend request, don’t immediately invite them to like your Facebook business page. First of all, that is terribly tacky. Second of all, it looks like spam and can be marked as such.
  4. Stay Mindful of Mixing Business with Pleasure: Don’t post too much about your business on your personal page. That is a direct violation of the Facebook Terms of Service and can get you banned altogether. In addition, as with every post, spam is in the eye of the receiver. Any user has the option to mark any post as spam – and some will if you overly blast them with sales messages on your personal profile.

If you post what looks like spam, even people who like you will unfollow you or unlike your page. Neither is a good option as it makes your content completely invisible.

One last quick note, if you haven’t read the Facebook Terms of Service, it may serve you well to take a few minutes to do just that.

Keep these tips in mind to keep you free to use Facebook and all its capabilities!

Are you currently using Facebook for business or have you abandoned it as a  marketing platform? Any cool things you’ve been doing with your Page? Would love to hear so let me know in the Comments below!